History (74 page)

tions, he promptly said to the dog : "Go up and get them! Go on!"

Immediately, the dog fl up the steps and brought one sandal back down, and in another dash produced the other, with the satisfi air of total comprehension. This was Useppe's fi meeting with Bella.

The dog, in fact, was a female; and she already had the name of Bella before encountering Nino. \Vho gave it to her originally, no one knows. Ninnuzzu had seen her the fi time, barely a puppy, in Naples, in
'44,
in the arms of a business partner with whom he had an engagement in the

port. The partner, who dealt in contraband American cigarettes, had ac quired her only a short time before, by chance, from a kid passing by, in exchange for some odd packs of
Camels
and
Chesterfields
(known to him, in his language, as
Camelle
and
Just to feel );
and he insisted he had made a good deal, because this little dog was a thoroughbred, and worth at least four or fi thousand lire! But though Nino, envying him this purchase, immediately off him more on his own, the partner wouldn't sell at any price, declaring that, in those ten minutes he'd held her in his arms, he had already become fond of her, as a member of the family. Now, at the time of her purchase, she was already named Bella : with this name, in fact, the vendor had introduced her to the purchaser, and she already answered promptly to the name.

Ninnarieddu, from that day on, had never got her out of his heart; and every time he happened to run into that character ( whose name was

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Antonio), he renewed his request to buy her from him; but every time, no matter how Nino increased his off Antonio refused her to him. And Nino had even thought of stealing her, but had rejected the idea out of a sense of honor, since Antonio had been his partner, and they still worked together on occasion .

Then, in July of 1946, Antonio was caught in an armed robbery and locked up. And immediately, tormented by the thought of Bella, he found a way of letting Ninnuzzu know Bella was now his, provided he hurried to collect her wherever she was, to save her from a probable, ghastly end at the Pound.

Nino hurried; but not fi Bella at Antonio's house, he guessed the next place to look for her should be in the vicinity of the prison buildings. And, in fact, arriving at Poggioreale, when he was still at a distance of twenty yards, he saw a kind of white bear in the gathering darkness, roaming around those outer walls, lying down from time to time, and waiting God knows for what, and whimpering uninterruptedly. And though Nino called her, and insisted, and tugged at her, she refused to move from there. She didn't even utter a reply, continuing her discon solate, always identical whimpering, in which an ear more sensitive than the human ear could understand the word : "Antonio . . . Antonio . . Antonio . . ."

Finally Nino was able to persuade her by reasoning along this line : "My name's An tonio, too (alias Antonino and Antonuzzo and also

alias Nino, Ninnuzzu, and Ninnarieddu) and now, the only Antonio in your life is me, because that other Antonio isn't likely to come out of those walls until you're old. And in the meantime, if you keep hanging around here, the men from
.
the Pound will come and kill you with those lousy

gases of theirs. You know I loved you at fi sight. After the only dog of

my own I ever had, I didn't want any other; but the moment I saw you, I thought: this dog, or none. So if you don't come away with me now you'll be leaving two Antonios without a dog. And I might add that my grand father in Messina was named Antonio, too. Come on, let's go. Fate has brought us together."

This explains the unknown dog seen by Davide in Useppe's company. Immediately, at the fi encounter with her on the landing, Useppe recog nized in her an extraordinary kinship with Blitz, al though, to look at them, you would have thought them direct opposites. And yet, like Blitz, she also danced on greeting you; and, to kiss, she licked you with her rasping tongue; and she laughed with her face and her tail, just like Blitz. There was a diff however, immediately noticeable, in their gaze. In fact, Bella at times had a special sweetness and melancholy in her hazel eyes, perhaps because she was female.

370 H I S T O R Y
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.
. . .
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Her breed, known as lVIarcmma or Abruzzi shepherds, came from Asia, where Bella's ancestors, from the dawn of history, had followed the fl of the earth's fi shepherds. So Bella was, as a shepherdess, almost a sister of sheep, whom she also had to defend skillfully against the wolves. And in fact, her na ture, always patient and meek, on certain occasions could develop a wild beast's ferocity.

She had a rural mien, full of majesty; her coat was all white, thick, a bit ruffl at times; and she had a kind, jolly face, with a black nose.

At present, being two years of age, she corresponded to a little girl of about fi teen in the human species. At times, however, she seemed a two month-old puppy, when a little ball, the size of an apple, suffi to drive her crazy in fantastic amusement; and at other moments, she seemed an old woman, thousands of years old, of ancient memories and superior wisdom.

\Vith the previous Antonio, though she had a master, she had led the life of the streets and had twice copulated with unknown dogs. The fi time, it had obviously been a black or half-black dog, because of her seven subsequent puppies some were black with white spots, some white with black spots, and one all black except for a little white ear. The last one, also all black, had a white tuft at the end of his tail and a little white collar. She had tended and nursed them with passion in a closet under the stairs; but after a few days Antonio, not knowing what to do with those seven poor bastards, had taken them from her, however remorsefully, and had sent them in secret to die.

Still, when a few months had passed, she was pregnant again, by who knows what dog. This time the birth went badly; she herself came close to death, and had then to undergo an operation which meant that from now on she could neveragain be a mother.

Perhaps these memories of hers were the source of that sadness seen at times in her gaze.

Since he had become Bella's owner, rather than leave her, Nino gave up movies, shows, dancehalls, night clubs, and all places where dogs are not admitted. If, in some borderline case, he found himself rejected, because of Bella, with the words : "Sorry, really sorry, no dogs allowed . . ." he would wheel around promptly, with a dire and contemptuous grimace, and at times he would answer with infern curses, or quarrel. One day, when they had gone into a bar, Bella not only licked some pastries kept on display there; but in a single mouthful she swallowed one, and having found pistachio inside or some other ingredient she didn't like, she disgustedly vomited on the fl everything she had in her stomach. Then the barm protested about fouling the place, etc., and his protest jarred on Nino's nerves. "My dog's vomit," he declared angrily, "is a lot better than your

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pastries and your coffee!" "Ugh, it's lousy!" he added ostentatiously, having barely moistened his lips in the cup (he was having an espresso). And he rejected the drink with a nauseated face, as if he wanted to vomit too. Then, grandly throwing fi hundred lire on the counter for the damages, he said : "Come on, Bella!" and went out of there forever, a man shaking the dust of a place from his soles. Nor did Bella, for her part, show any sign of shame or regret: on the contrary, she followed Nino at a gay and festive little trot, carry like a standard, her hairy tail (worthy, indeed, of a charger in its magnifi ).

But Ninnuzzu's great sacrifi in Bella's honor was giving up the motorcycle. In fact, after a little while, he decided to sell the Triumph, planning to purchase in its stead, at the fi opportunity, a car in which he and she could travel together. But since the motorcycle's price was paid him in three instalments, and instead of saving every instalment, he spent it, for that summer the new car remained a Utopia. Meanwhile, Nino could often be seen standing, fascinated and intent, in front of some motor vehicle, in Bella's company and at times also in Useppe's, all three in consultation, in view of the purchase, discussing pick-up, mileage, horse power . . .

Nino was so taken with Bella's company, that in some cases he pre ferred her even to girls ! And Bella, for her part, requited him to the maximum, though never forgetting that other Antonio, in Poggioreale. If she should happen to hear, even in some strangers' talk, the ordinary word "Antonio," she immediately raised her floppy white ears, with an alert and anxious look. By herself, she had understood that the other Antonio, al though alive in Naples, was now, alas, beyond reach. And Nino, who behaved very considerately towards her, avoided mentioning Antonio in her presence, so as not to reopen the wound in her heart.

On Bella, as on primordial creatures in general, names had a prompt and concrete eff For example, if you said the word
cat
to her, she would move her tail slightly, her ears half up and half down and her eyes glowing with a provocatory intent, though almost entertained (in fact, like Nino himself, she didn't seem to take the race of cats very seriously. When one of them, on meeting her, happened to threaten her grimly, she would at fi accept the challenge, perhaps so as not to off him. But after one or two well-meant feints towards him, she would go off, laughing, with the implicit idea :
who do you think you are? A wolf maybe?!)

And now, since she had made Useppe's acquaintance, the very sound of his name made her go immediately wild in festive, eager leaps : so Nino, amused by this game, when they happened to be in Rome together, couldn't resist the fun of tempting her, suggesting: "Want to go see Useppe?" And afterwards, rather than disappoint her, he often ended up

3 7 2 H I S T O R Y
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.
. . .
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taking her there. In this way, Bella became one of the possible motives, mostly unconscious, which explain Nino's return to the family, in those two months of July and August.

And yet summer's temptations lured him more than ever. And he did nothing but run, at every opportunity, from one beach to another, coming back always blacker, his eyes radiant, slightly reddened by the sun and the water, and his hair stiff with salt. Bella also had a briny smell, and she scratched herself often, because of the sand that stuck in her coat. Nino thoughtfully took her, every now and then, to have a bath at a public bath for dogs, from which she emerged somewhat dazed, though snowy, combed and new, like a lady leaving the beauty parlor.

From time to time, Nino promised Useppe to take him along too, one of these days, on an excursion to the sea, and to teach him how to swim. But his Roman days followed one another so feverishly that no room was left for the famous excursion. And even their outings in trio (Nino, Useppe, and Bella ), though fairly frequent, were inevitably reduced to bri dashes. They never went farther than the Pyramid, or the Aventine. Ninnuzzu, that summer, wore shirts with fl pattern and many colors, which came from America and were bought at Leghorn. And he also brought three similar little shirts as a present to Useppe. He didn't forget Ida either, making her a gift of some towels with RAF printed on them and some African straw slippers. Moreover, he brought her an ash

tray, of metal that looked like gold, stolen from a hotel.

It was towards the end of August that Nino, having returned to Rome for a few days, had a serious quarr with the nameless people who housed him, because of Bella. And promptly, in his fury, without stopping to think, he arrived with suitcase and dog in Via Bodoni, where Ida hastened to settle him as best she could in the room with the little daybed.

Bella wasn't a city dog like Blitz; and when she entered the minuscule apartment, it seemed to shrink still further, as if at an excessive invasion. But Ida at present would have gladly received even a real polar bear, she was so pleased to have Ninnuzzu horn again, if only in transit. Bella slept with him in the little room, at the foot of the bed, waiting calmly and patiently in the morning for him to wake up. However, she was quick to catch the fi sign, even the slightest, of his waking; as soon as he began to stretch a little, or yawn, or s: rn open his eyes a crack, she immediately sprang up in enthusiastic racket, like certain tribes at the rising of the sun. And so the house was in formed of Nino's waking.

In general this happened towards the noon hour. Until then, Ida, in her usual bustling about the kitchen, took care to be quiet, not to disturb her fi whose fresh snoring could be heard beyond the door. This sound gave her a sense of pride. And if Useppe, waking fi made a little

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noise, she admonished him to be quiet, as if beyond that door the Head of the household, a great worker, were asleep. In fact, it was certain Nino worked, because he earned money (not a great deal, to tell the truth); but what his job was exactly remained a confused point ( that it involved contraband or the black market was more or less known; but such work constituted only another alarming enigma for Ida).